There is no admission that the background art disclosed in this section legally constitutes prior art.
There have been many attempts at building mass transportation systems, one of which is the current rail transportation system. Currently, rail travel consists of train engines (locomotives) pulling (or pushing) a number of rail cars. A conventional rail car may weigh around 110,000 pounds, and the locomotive car may weigh around 200,000 pounds. Thus, a typical train set consisting of a locomotive and eight cars may weigh over 1,000,000 pounds. This amount of weight requires supporting infrastructure that is heavy and expensive to build and maintain.
Conventional train systems have certain inefficiencies regarding fuel economy. One inefficiency is that a conventional train set must not only provide power through a diesel or electric motor to move the cars, but must also provide power to move the source of the power, i.e., the locomotive. Another inefficiency exists because a great deal of energy is used to start and stop the entire set of train cars each time it leaves from or arrives at a station, even if only a few passengers are embarking or disembarking from the train.
Moreover, because the coefficient of friction between the locomotive's steel wheels and the steel rails is small, the locomotive must be quite heavy (in relation to the cars) in order to provide the necessary traction to move itself and the cars. Furthermore, because conventional trains must make many stops, the train must be designed to travel at a higher speed in order to meet a desired average speed. For example, there are conventional high speed rail systems that are designed for and travel at speeds of over 200 mph so that with all of the required stops, the train can average around 130 mph. Also, if a conventional train is involved in an accident, this could involve many cars and endanger several hundred passengers. Another drawback relates to the significant amount of noise pollution that high speed trains create when traveling at speeds over 200 mph, particularly when the trains are exiting tunnels.
Further, conventional rail systems are limited in the amount of grade that the locomotive can traverse, thus requiring designs that maximize the amount of level tracks. Typically, designs around steep grades (e.g., a mountain pass) involve building additional track to go around the obstruction or a tunnel to pass through the obstruction, with both options adding significant costs to the system.